Some Freaks, The Eremites, Dog Years, Revengeance, The Nest, A Closer Walk With Thee are the winners of the top prizes in feature filmmaking at the 2017 Nashville Film Festival.
The award ceremony is the culmination of the 2017 Festival, which represented 303 films selected for competition out of over 5,500 submissions. Winning films were selected from a jury from representatives from across the country.
Narrative Feature Competition
Grand Jury Prize Winner: SOME FREAKS, Directed by Ian MacAllister McDonald
Audience Award Winner: MIGRUMPIES, Directed by Arman T. Riahi
Honorable Mention: PLAY THE DEVIL, Directed by Maria Govan
Best Actress: Lily Mae Harrington, SOME FREAKS
Best Actor: Pytor Skvortsov, THE STUDENT
Special Jury Prize for Overall Film Aesthetics: FLOWERS OF EVIL, Directed by Antti J. Jokinen
Best Screenplay: PLAY THE DEVIL, Written by Maria Govan
Best Music: SOME FREAKS, Composer, Walter Sickert; Music Supervisor, Dan Wilcox
Documentary Feature Competition
Grand Jury Prize Winner: UNREST, Directed by Jennifer Brea
Audience Award Winner: AUGIE, Directed by James Keach
Honorable Mention: QUEST, Directed by Jonathan Olshefski
Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Filmmaking: SMALL TALK, Directed by Hui-Chen Huang
Music Films/Music City Competition
Grand Jury Prize Winner: CASSETTE: A DOCUMENTARY MIXTAPE, Directed by Zack Taylor
Audience Award Winner: THE LAST SONGWRITER, Directed by Mark Barger Elliott
Honorable Mention: SCORE: A FILM MUSIC DOCUMENTARY, Directed by Matt Schrader
New Director Feature Competition
Grand Jury Prize Winner: THE EREMITES, Directed by Ronny Trocker
Audience Award Winner: BOMB CITY, Directed by Jameson Brooks
Audience Award Winner: GIRL FLU, Directed by Dorie Barton
Honorable Mention: LA SOLEDAD, Directed by Jorge Thielen Armand
Special Jury Prize for Performance: Dave Davis, BOMB CITY
Tennessee First Feature Competition
Grand Jury Prize Winner: KANDYLAND, Directed by Seth Graves
Audience Award Winner: WILD MAN, Directed by Jacquie Phillips & Stefanie Black
Episodic Competition
Grand Jury Prize Winner: THE NEST, Directed by Filipe Matzembacher & Marcio Reolon
Long Form:
Audience Award Winner: LONG LIVE DEATH, Directed by Sebastian Marka
Short Form:
Grand Jury Prize Winner: GUEST APPEARANCES, Directed by Elizabeth Guest
Animated Feature Competition
Grand Jury Prize Winner: REVENGEANCE by Bill Plympton Audience Award Winner: WINDOW HORSES (THE POETIC PERSIAN EPIPHANY OF ROSIE MING), Directed by Ann Marie Fleming
Graveyard Competition
Grand Jury Prize Winner: A CLOSER WALK WITH THEE, Directed by John C. Clark & Brie Williams
Honorable Mention: BIRDBOY: THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN, Directed by Pedro Rivero & Alberto Vazquez
Best Actress: Suela Bako, BLOODLANDS
Best Actor: A.J. Knight; A CLOSER WALK WITH THEE
Spectrum Audience Award
Spectrum Audience Award Winner: THE UNTOLD TALES OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN, Directed by Jennifer M. Kroot
Virtual Reality Competition
Grand Jury Prize Winner: INVASION, Directed by Eric Darnell
Honorable Mention: I, PHILIP, Directed by Pierre Zandrowicz
Best Original Song Competition
Grand Jury Prize Winner: “Yet to Come” Written by John Martin & Jamie Floyd, Performed by Stranger Friends, DOG YEARS
Honorable Mention: “Wolves” Written & Performed by Beril Guceri, THE SCENT OF RAIN AND LIGHTNING
Sponsored Awards
NPT Human Spirit Award: SWIM TEAM, Directed by Lara Stolman
NAHCC Award for Best Hispanic Film: DOLORES, Directed by Peter Bratt
Lipscomb University Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: MENASHE
VER Award for Best Cinematography: BOOMTOWN, Cinematography by David Newbert
Short Film Audience Awards
Narrative Short Film: 4:15 PM END OF THE WORLD, Directed by Gabi Virginia Sarga & Catalin Rotaru
Documentary Short Film: THE STREETS ARE OURS: TWO LIVES CROSS IN KARACHI, Directed by Michelle Fiordaliso
Experimental Short Film: REFLECTION OF POWER, Directed by Mihai Grecu
Animated Short Film: NOWHERE LINE: VOICES FROM MANUS ISLAND, Directed by Luka Schrank
Graveyard Shift Short Film: HAND FART, Directed by Stanley Wong & Travis Ashkenasy
Tennessee Horizon Audience Awards
Winner: MARTHA, Directed by Taylor Burgess
Runner Up: BROKE DICK DOG, Directed By GB Shannon
2nd Runner Up: A FUNERAL FOR LIGHTNING, Directed by Emily Kai Bock
3rd Runner Up: NEXT OF KIN, Directed by Dakota Diel
4th Runner Up: McMURPHY, Directed by Charles Dillon Ward
5th Runner Up: TAKE IT ALL THE WAY, Directed by Cody Rogers
6th Runner Up: MILLENNIUM GIRL, Directed by Grayson Propst